LUCKNOW: As the caravan of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election moves eastward, the stature of OBC stalwarts, their political credibility and their grip on the ground will be put to test. Both BJP and Samajwadi Party have hoards of leaders belonging to the backward class making tall claims about being the representatives of their respective castes. Even many of them are in the fray in battleground UP.
This time, OBC leaders like OP Rajbhar of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, Swami Prasad Maurya and Dara Singh Chauhan have left the saffron juggernaut to ride the cycle of Samajwadi Party. In the previous Assembly election in 2017, Rajbhar was in alliance with the BJP and was also a minister in the Yogi
Adityanath cabinet. He parted ways in 2019 and is now a part of the alliance led by Akhilesh Yadav’s SP.
Similarly, other faces such as Swami Prasad Maurya and Dara Singh Chauhan have joined the Samajwadi camp deserting the BJP just ahead of the elections.
A glance at the poll scene in the east makes it clear that the final two phases of the Assembly elections will test the might of these OBC bigwigs in the opposition camp while the influence of the likes of Anupriya Patel, Apna Dal(S) chief and Dr Sanjay Nishad, NISHAD party chief — both BJP allies — will also be at stake not only in their constituencies but also in neighbouring seats.
Starting with BJP allies, Anupriya Patel, part of the Modi cabinet and chief of Apna Dal (S), is deemed to be one of the tallest leaders of Kurmis dominating on a number of eastern UP pockets. In the 2017 Assembly election, BJP had left 11 seats for Apna Dal (S) and the party had won nine of them securing 39.21 per cent votes. This time, the share of seats given to Apna Dal (S) has been increased to 17 by the BJP. As a result, it will be incumbent upon Anupriya to win all those seats for the saffron alliance.
Proceeding further, Dr Sanjay Nishad, coming from the community of boatmen and heading the NISHAD party, had gone it alone in the 2017 polls. He had fielded candidates on 72 seats claiming that Nishads had their influence on 160 seats of eastern Uttar Pradesh and that no party could win elections without their support. However, the party could muster only 3.58 per cent votes and win just one seat — Gyanpur. This time, NISAHD party has been able to get 16 tickets from BJP’s kitty.
Similarly, OP Rajbhar of SBSP, who floated the party in 2002, remained in oblivion till it could open an account in 2017 after striking an alliance with the BJP. The Rajbhar’s party won four of the eight seats it was given by the BJP in 2017.
However, in this election, SBSP is contesting 18 seats in alliance with the SP. Rajbhar is in fray from his traditional seat Zahoorabad in Ghazipur district of eastern UP facing a triangular contest from Kalicharan Rajbhar of BJP and Shadab Fatima of BSP. Though the reach of SBSP has gone up as it has fielded candidates on a dozen and a half seats, Rajbhar has the challenge of not only sailing through in his own constituency but also ensuring the victory of his candidates.
As per the political pundits in the state, Rajbhar population has swayed over 25-26 seats in eastern UP. Swami Prasad Maurya and Dar Singh Chauhan, the two leaders who claim to be the representatives of OBCs, have to pass through a trial by fire. Both the leaders had switched over to the BJP in 2016 and had won their respective constituencies of Padrauna and Madhuban as BJP candidates in 2017. They graduated to become the ministers in the Adityanath cabinet for five years only to desert the saffron camp just ahead of the Assembly elections claiming suppression and subjugation of OBCs and SCs in BJP rule.
Now both Maurya and Chauhan have changed their constituencies and are in fray from Fazilnagar in Kushinagar and Ghosi in Mau respectively. They have the challenge to prove their credentials of being strong OBC faces by winning their seats and also helping the SP win other seats of their influence.